In a new fundraising and get-out-the-vote letter, Wexler tells constituents that he faces his "most difficult re-election ever" as he faces "two millionaire opponents" that he says "are using their own money to attack" his record.

Read the fundraising letter and the Sun Sentinel article about his race that he shares with voters.

Dear Friends,

My most difficult re-election ever is only days away and with your help today you can ensure that I return to Congress next year.

I am facing two millionaire opponents who are using their own money to attack my record while lobbing scurrilous charges against me designed to cause my defeat.

It won't work and I will win - but I need your help today.

The following article appeared recently in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel with the headline: "WEXLER TESTED IN RE-ELECTION BID THE SIX-TERM HOUSE MEMBER IS FACING HIS TOUGHEST CHALLENGE YET." The article went on to say that "After 12 years in Congress, U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler hasn't had an election fight like the current one. In seeking a seventh, two-year term in the 19th Congressional District with landslide victories behind him, Wexler is battling two aggressive opponents, including an "independent Democrat" and a Republican businessman who is a former part-time race-car driver." (Entire article below).

I am spending a million dollars in an aggressive media outreach effort including television advertisements, print ads, and direct mail.

I need your help today to fund the effort.

I can't thank you enough for your previous support of my efforts. At this critical moment any additional help will go a long way toward getting my message out.

Click here to donate online. If you prefer sending a check, please make it out to Wexler for Congress and send it to 2500 N. Military Trail, Suite 251, Boca Raton, FL 33431.

With warm regards,

Robert

DONATE

South Florida Sun-Sentinel, 16 October 2008

WEXLER TESTED IN RE-ELECTION BID THE SIX-TERM HOUSE MEMBER IS FACING HIS TOUGHEST CHALLENGE YET

After 12 years in Congress, U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler hasn't had an election fight like the current one.

In seeking a seventh, two-year term in the 19th Congressional District with landslide victories behind him, Wexler is battling two aggressive opponents, including an "independent Democrat" and a Republican businessman who is a former part-time race-car driver.

Ben Graber, a former Democratic state representative and former Broward County mayor from Coral Springs, is running as a no-party affiliate candidate. He made a failed run for Congress against Wexler and four others in 2006, and the pair have sparred ever since. Edward Lynch, of West Palm Beach, is the Republican contender who helped draw unfavorable national attention this summer to Wexler's ownership of a home in Maryland.

Wexler prides himself on being a passionate defender of his constituents, even though he's taken unpopular stands. Last year, for instance, he became an early backer of Barack Obama's presidential bid despite many voters in his district favoring Hillary Clinton.

Candidate profiles

A lawyer, Wexler, 47, is a former state legislator known for a prosecutorial style. He's a frequent guest on national TV political talk shows, and this year he wrote an autobiography, Fire Breathing Liberal, in which he brags about his performance in the "contact sport of Congress."

Graber, 60, and Lynch, 42, say Wexler often votes against the wishes of his constituents. Graber mentions that Wexler voted in favor of giving Bush permission to invade Iraq.

Wexler is known as one of the sharpest critics in Congress of the Bush administration. He led a move to hold impeachment hearings against Vice President Dick Cheney. He also confronted Gen. David Petraeus, commander of U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq, during congressional hearings this year.

"He's a mouthpiece, he's a critic, and he never has anything positive to say," Graber said of Wexler.

But Wexler says he brings "authenticity" to Washington. "People want authenticity. They want honesty and forthrightness," he said. "They don't want politicians who are afraid to take a stand."

He counts among his accomplishments a more than four-year effort to bring optical scanners with paper-trail voting to Florida.

Lynch turned Fox News onto a story about Wexler maintaining a residence in the Maryland suburbs while listing his in-law's house in Delray Beach as his official address. Lynch and Graber say Wexler has misled constituents. But Wexler broke no laws by owning a home in Maryland, and he now rents an apartment in the district. The challengers, though, say the residence issue symbolizes that Wexler is out of touch with residents in northern Broward and southern Palm Beach counties.

Graber is a German-born physician who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology and touts health care reform as the prime reason for running for Congress. He wants a universal health care plan, and his strategy entails an expansion of Medicare. In Tallahassee in the 1990s, Graber wrote health-care legislation that expanded access to doctors and medicine for Florida's poor.

Lynch has owned companies that built telephone transmission towers. He's now a consultant for a firm that does work with the Department of Veterans Affairs. He focuses on Medicare, and he favors privatizing Social Security. "Historically, the market has performed pretty well," he says.

Mark Hollis can be reached at mhollis@SunSentinel.com or 561-228-5512.

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About the authors

MARIA HERRERA has covered local government, immigration and Hispanic affairs, and growth and development in Florida since 2004. Maria joined the Sun Sentinel in 2006 to cover the city of Delray Beach and nearby unincorporated areas. She has worked at the Miami Herald and the Daytona Beach News-Journal. Maria was born in Caracas, Venezuela and moved to South Florida in 1993.

ANTHONY MAN is the Sun Sentinel’s political writer. Concentrating on local political people, parties and trends, he also covers state and national politics from a South Florida perspective. Before moving to politics full time, he covered politics and Palm Beach County government for the Sun-Sentinel, including touch-screen voting and the Supervisor of Elections Office. He's also covered municipal, county, state, and federal elections and made repeated reporting trips to Tallahassee. He joined the Sun-Sentinel in 2002 after covering state and local politics in Illinois. Like so many others in South Florida, he's originally from a New York suburb (Rockland County).

REBEKAH MONSON covers Boca Raton and West Boca. She has worked at the Sun Sentinel since 2005. Rebekah grew up in rural Alabama and graduated with a journalism degree from Louisiana State University in 2003.Follow @rebekahmonson

ANDY REID
has covered government, growth and development, and environmental issues in Florida since 1996. He joined the Sun Sentinel in 2005 and covers Palm Beach County government, with an emphasis on growth and development, as well as South Florida water management issues. He previously worked at the Tampa Tribune, Stuart News and the News Chief in Winter Haven. A native of Tampa, Reid graduated from Florida State University where he majored in communications. He is a father of three and lives with his wife, Jennifer, in Royal Palm Beach.Follow @abreidnews

ERIKA PESANTES has covered crime and breaking news as well as the city of Boynton Beach and West Boynton since joining the Sun Sentinel in June 2006. She has previously worked at Florida Today and The Miami Herald where she’s covered local governments since 2003. Pesantes is a Miami native and a graduate of Florida International University.